OVERVIEW OF NALCO National Aluminium Company Limited is the largest integrated Aluminium producer of Asia.

Incorporated in 1981, as a Public sector Enterprise of Govt. of India has emerged to be a premier Navaratna Company. Products of Nalco: Aluminium ingots Wire rods Billets Strips Rolled products The companys product has been registered in LME and NALCO products are sold in more than 30 countries worldwide - including the UK, the USA, France, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Brazil, Russia, Australia, China and Japan. All the operations of Nalco are based in Orissa like, Bauxite mining and refinery - Damanjodi Aluminium Smelter and Captive power plant - Angul Ports facility for export Vishakhapatnam Corporate office Bhubaneswar Marketing office Major cities of India

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

The company is a green valley project engaged in mining of bauxite to production of Aluminium ingots, wire rod, sheets and Billet with its own captive power plant. All the units of the company have been certified with ISO-9001: 2000 / 14001 by TUV. A detail birds view of Nalco is captured below,

NALCO AT A GLANCE
MINES DIVISION REFINERY DIVISION
LOCATED AT DAMANJODI

CAP:840 MW

CPP

CAP:4.4 MILLION TPA

CAP:16,00,000 TPA

LOCATED AT PANCHPATMALLI MINES, DAMANJODI

LOCATED AT ANGUL

OUR WORKING AREA

CAP:3,50,00

SMELT DIVISI
LOCATED ANGUL

LEGENDS FLOW OF BAUXITE FLOW OF ALUMINA FLOW OF POWER BAUXITE THROUGH CABLE BELT CONVEYOR CORPORATE OFFICE PLOT NO A/01,NAYAPALLI BHUBANESWAR ORISSA ALUMINA THROUGH RAIL WAGONS

CARBON AREA

VO

PO

CAST HOUS

INGOTS

SOW BILLETS MOULDS

W RO

HOW ALUMINIUM IS MADE IN SMELTER: The major raw materials for production of Aluminium are: Alumina powder which in turn comes from Bauxite ore Cryolite also known as bath Electricity (Huge Ampere) Carbonic cell consisting of Cathode and Anode

Based on process requirements, the function of Smelter plant is distributed to the following areas of operation: 1. Carbon area: where Carbon anodes are produced which is a basic raw material for Potline operation. Baron anodes are produced by three stages namely - Green anodes are prepared by mixing solid cokes with coal tar pitch. - Baked anodes by heating the green anode mould. - Rodded anodes are finally made by joining the Aluminium stems to the baked anodes. 2. Potline: Potline is the heart of Smelter plant where actually molten Aluminium is produced. It consists of Electrolytic pots arranged in rows which are electrically connected in series. There are 720 pots arranged in six rooms (A to E). These are operated by DC current of 180 KA. 3. Cast house: The final product is made in the Cast house where the molten Aluminum from Potline is poured in the oil fired furnace and casted to different shapes like ingots, billets, wires rods and rolled products. DETAILED SMELTER PROCESS:

Aluminium is produced from Alumina by Electrolytic process also known Hall-Heroult Process who have invented the process.
Alumina is reduced to Aluminium metal in electrolytic cells known as pots; these are then organized into potlines.

2 Al2O3 + 3C

Electricity -------------- > Bath

4Al + 3CO2

Fig 1 Process Inputs and Process Outputs in the reduction pot.

Nalco has adopted the most modern state-of art technology from Aluminium Pechiney, France. The modern electrolytic pot cells with sophisticated automatic process control system using artificial intelligence techniques and modular regulation procedures. Pot Regulation Mechanism: Pot regulation is done based on two types of parameters. 1. Resistance based control In the resistance based control procedure, pseudo resistance is calculated using cell voltage and potline current. Average values of this resistance is calculated for a few minutes and the compared with a target resistance, based on the difference and the algorithm the regulation initiated by means of adjustment of anode cathode distance.

Alumina hopper
Pot Voltage U = 4.15V
Anode Drop Dissociation Voltage Bath Drop Cathode Drop Line losses 0.35V 1.65V 1.61V 0.35V 0.19V

Anodes Electrolytic bath Aluminium Cathode block

Fig 4 Voltage brake up in a typical 180KA pot cell

The dissociation voltage, as shown in fig-4, is required for dissociation of alumina into aluminium and oxygen, the bath drop voltage is responsible for heat generation in the pot for keeping the bath and metal in the molten state in the pot. The other drops like anode drop, cathode drop and line losses are inherent in the system and contribute to the loss of power. There is always a need for making these losses as low as possible. 2. Monitoring of Alumina Concentration This control strategy is based on the pseudo resistance for a given anode cathode distance, a function of alumina concentration. Below an alumina concentration of 3%, the resistance increases significantly with the depletion of alumina in the bath. The alumina concentration control scheme is based on the alternation of the periods when alumina is introduced in a slower rate (underfeeding) and at faster rate (overfeeding) than the rate corresponding to the theoretical consumption by the electrolysis cell. Moreover a demand feed strategy is used, based on a tracking procedure where feeders and breakers are stopped until the resistance increases by a set-value, which then triggers resumption of the feeding.

ROLE OF AUTOMATION SYSTEM The role of automation system is : More accuracy than manual system Better control mechanism and work efficiency Easy to observe and maintain database. Less human intervention. High speed data acquisition system

Automation systems on Potline with special artificial intelligence built in to their functioning, use special control procedures for different Pot operations like Anode Changing, Tapping, and alumina feeding etc. for effective pot control, facilitating real time supervision, for reducing the anode effect rate and related gas emissions. The present level of automation in potlines of aluminum smelters consists of the two-tier control mechanism (a) LEVEL 1 - Individual control by means of Electronic pot controllers, and (b) LEVEL 2 - Overall regulation of the line by means of dedicated computer systems and SCADA based control.

APPLICATION SERVER
PROCESS APPLICATION

SENSORS AND ACTUATORS

BROWSER

WEB SERVER

DATABA

COMMUNICATIO N INTERFACE

ELECTRONIC POT CONTROLLER

Fig 7 The Overall System Architecture of Potline Automation

Electronic Pot Controllers (Level 1) The electronic pot controller is responsible directly for the pot control and operation Acquisition of digital and analog pot inputs viz. V &I Keeping Pot resistance about the set point value Keeping the Alumina content close to target value. Detect signal and process the faults or events that occur in the pot Level 2 System Functions The level 2 or the supervisory level takes care of entire potline and plays the following roles

PROCESS SERVER

DISK BAYS

PROCESS SERVER 2

WEB SERVERS

MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE

Network Switch
Gigabit LAN

Network Switch
NETWORK PRINTER

DATA CONCENTRATOR

Current Measurement & Control BUS BAR

RS 485 converter

LINE CURRENT

Current Transducers

Electrolytic Pot

ELECTRONIC POT CONTROLLER

Pot controller supervision Pot status mimics AlF3 feeding and pot thermal control Historical data (graphics & reports) Shift, daily, weekly & monthly reports Work scheduling and management (8 hr shifts) Measurement input and processing Potline restart program Interface with laboratory, cast house, and substation Data Management and Report Generations

FIELD INSTRUMENTS: The training at Nalco provided an exposure to various measuring/controlling instruments, sensors and transducers starting from a pressure gauge to sophisticated PLC system. Lists of instruments studied during the training are given below:

S.No. 1.

Description of the Type Make Instrument/ system Pressure gauge 1. Odin Bourdgen gauge type 2. Guru (Dial) 3. Precision 4. Wika 5. Waaree Pr. switch Pr. /Temp. transmitter 1. 2. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. Indfuss Switzer Tata Honeywell ABB Rose-mount Parker Nagman Tempcon Tempsens Elind Chemtrols Omron Industrial Inst Tata Honeywell Masibus Towniwal ABB Chemtrols Nevo Control VEGA E&H Philips Sartorius Avery Openlink HBM Avery Tulaman SEW Eurodrive Allen Bradley ABB Tata Honeywell Yokogawa

2. 3.

4.

Temperature sensor:

ThermocoupleK/N/S - RTD - Thermowell

5.

Digital temp. indicator cum controller

6.

Universal indicator cum controller

7.

Level Switch

- Tuning fork - Magnetic weighing

8.

Electronic sytem

9.

Loadcell

10.

VFD

11.

Paper less recorder

12.

Proximity switch

- Magnetic - Photo electric

13. 14.

Flow meter PLC PLC/SLC

3. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Eurotherm Cutler Hammer E&H Pepperl+Fuch Tata Honeywell Forbes marshal Emerson Process Allen Bradley Siemens Schneider GE Fanuc

INSTRUMENTAION SYSTEM Instrumentation deals with the study and application of measuring and control instruments. Basic units of instrumentation system are sensors, transducers, signal conditioners, display units, recorders, controllers and final control elements.

Recorder / Data storage 3 2 Signal conditioning & Transmission 3 Display Unit 3 4

Sensor & Transducers (Data Acquisition)

1 6 Process

5 Controllers Final control element

CHARACTERISTICS OF MEASURING DEVICES:For optimum performance of measuring devices, a number of basic characteristics to be considered. Few of them are given below. Accuracy:- Closeness with which the instrument reading approaches standard or true value. Lesser the error more accurate the instrument is. Precision: -Closeness of group of reading to their average value. Higher the precision higher the repeatability of instrument. Error: - Difference between indicated value and true value of the measurand (parameter under measurement e.g., pressure). Resolution:-The smallest input change measurable by the instrument.

Threshold is the smallest measurable input.

Span: Linear operating range of the total scale of the instrument. To ensure the validity of performance of any measuring device the instrument has to be calibrated periodically against a standard instrument.

Calibration: - The comparison of input and output of an instrument with a reference standard is called calibration. All calibration has to be done both in ascending and descending order to check hysteresis effect. Reference standard instrument:-Reference standards are of higher accuracy, precision and repeatability. They are classified as Primary, Secondary and working standards.

MEASUREMENT OF PRESSURE Measurement of pressure is very important in chemical processing and manufacturing industries. Different type of sensors are used for measurement of pressure they are

Bourdon tube
DIAPHRAGM,

Bellows
Connecting link

The pressure drop across the vital equipment gives clue to healthy working of process itself. Examples;-Choke in strainers/filters, Partial blockage in heat LP-Pressure Chamber exchangers, dust settling in scrubbers/gas Sealing D purifiers. bellows i Here Diaphragm based differential pressure gauge is explained. HP-Pressure Working: - Pressures on one side of chamber diaphragm make it to deflect away from the pressure side. Pressures on both side of diaphragm make it to deflect away from the P Pres higher-pressure side. This deflection is connected to a pointer mechanism and displayed. Calibrating a pressure gauge: -In dead weight tester, the piston top is loaded with weight and the oil pressure is increased or decreased by the screw pump. By continuously rotating the stack of weights (so as to maintain dynamic balance) the gauge can be checked (when piston raises its position) for zero, full-scale and intermediate points by comparing with master gauge. Necessary adjustments can be made in pointer or in connecting link.

Piston with load

Pressure gauge to be checked

Screw to increase or decrease pressure

Points to be followed before fixing and removing a pressure gauge;Check before fixing 1.Whether gauge is of proper range/suitable for this application. 2.Mounted in right Elevation 3.Pressure line valve closed. 4Neutraliser valve closed in case of DP gauge. 5.Tefflon applied to avoid air/oil leakage. Check before removing 1.Pressure line valve closed. 2.Neutraliser valve closed in case of DP gauge.

NOTE:1. Pressure switches are used to detect/control pressure (or differential pressure.) at one value. 2. Pressure transmitters are used for continuous measurement and transmitting to remote indicator or PLC. TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT The most widely used sensors for temperature measurement are: 2. Thermistors (-50 to 65C) 1. Thermocouple (-250 to 1800C) 3. RTD (Resistance temperature Detector)(-250 to 400C) TC B E J K N R S T ELEMENT Platinum30% Rhodium (+) latinum 6% Rhodium (-) Chromel (+) Constantan (-) Iron (+) Constantan (-) Chromel (+) Alumel (-) Nicrosil (+) Nisil (-) Platinum 13% Rhodium (+) Platinum (-) Platinum 10% Rhodium (+) Platinum (-) Copper (+) Constantan (-) RANGE 13701700C 95-900C 95-760C 95-1260C 650-1260C 870-1450C 980-1450C -200-350C

Thermocouple:-A thermocouple is a system composed of two wires, dissimilar in chemical composition that are soldered or fused at one end, forming a closed circuit when the free ends are connected to an instrument such as mill voltmeter. The welded end (hot junction) is kept at medium (point) of measurement and the other end is connected to instrument side (cold junction). An emf is produced which is directly proportional to the temperature difference between two ends (called seeback effect.). Different type of TC and their range are given in the table.

Check before fixing 1. Thermowell is available. 2.Stagnation probes available in case of high stream measurement. 3.TC range suitable for this application.

Check before removing 1. Thermowell available to avoid leakage of medium of measurement.

Internal fault giving no reading:- Open-circuit in one component, Connecting leads or short circuit across coil, input circuit etc., may be the reason. Check by measuring resistance across input terminals. Internal fault giving incorrect reading:- Incorrectly set zero, incorrect internal resistance, short circuit or leakage to earth or to

other part of the circuit, incorrect polarity of leads may be the reason. Resistance Temperature Detectors:- RTD works on the principle that the electrical resistance of a metal varies with change in the temperature. i.e., if metal wire is heated, its electrical resistance will change. Nickel, copper, platinum, lead, tungsten may be the metal. Platinum RTDs are most widely used because of its accuracy and reproducibility. They are available in 100, 110,120,130 ohms of resistance at 0C. Example:- Pt100 - Pt means sensing element made of platinum, 100 means 100 ohms at 0C. Testing a RTD:1.Check the continuity between the terminals. 2. Check the resistance is above the model value. E.g. Pt100. should have more than 100 ohms at room temperature. 3. Short the terminals (as shown in indicator), if lead compensation terminal not used. MAINTENANCE OF PROCESS SWITCHES The measurement in many points of the process need not be continuous; in those points Process switches are used to detect any change in process at a pre-set value. Process switches are of many types, pressure switches, temperature switches, flow switches and level detectors.

Level Detectors: -The tuning fork is brought

to its resonant frequency by a piezoelectric Level Detector element and vibrates in air at 80-85 Hz. When the tines are covered with material, the vibration is damped and the relay switches. Paddle Flow switches: - Micro switch inside the instrument is operated by the deflection of the paddle assembly due to velocity of flowing fluid against the restraining force of the range spring through a bellows sealed lever at a predetermined flow rate. Flow Switches Temperature switches: - Temperature switches may have stem sensor (capillary with stem in case of remote sensing) which are vapour pressure operated devices. Working in the same principle as that of the pressure switches. Capillar Pressure Switches: - A diaphragm senses the applied pressure. There is a switch mechanism and the set point adjustment knob. They are isolated from the process medium, which allows the opening / checking of the pressure switches on-line with the process.

Testing a process switch: -

Pointer Pr. scale

Pressure Switch

Temperature and pressure switches need the input to be Temperature simulated for testing, using Switches temperature or pressure simulators. Level detectors (tuning fork type), Flow switches and Proximity switches need no special simulators. 1. Arresting the vibration of tuning fork can simulate the level detectors input;

2.

3.

4.

5.

accordingly there should be change in relay contact. As shown in the figure, contact change from NO to NC. (Normally open to normally close). Gently press the paddle in case of Flow switch, observe the change in contact. Ensure that the paddle is returning back. If flow switch is to be set for some fixed or particular flow rate, then calibrate it with known flow rate. Bringing any iron plate near to the NO COM NC sensor end in case of inductive type sensor and any reflective surface in case of infrared sensor NO COM NC can simulate input for proximity switches. Before activation After activation Using the pressure simulator station, simulate the pressure input, check for change in relay contact. If not tune the set point knob till the relay get activated. The temperature switches can be checked using temperature simulators, in which the temperature is raised to a required value. There should be a change in contact in the temperature switch when process value crosses the set value.

MEASUREMENT OF DISPLACEMENT Displacement is a change in position of a body or a point with respect to a reference. LVDT (Linear Variable Differential Transformer) are most commonly used sensor.

Primary
+ Ei

Secondary
+ E1 _ _ + E2 Eo

LVDT: - It consists of a primary coil, two identical Core secondary coils and a magnetic core. Two secondary coils are connected in phase opposition. When primary coil is energized, voltages are induced in secondary coil depending on position of the magnetic core. The core is connected to point whose displacement is to be measured. The position at which the voltage across secondary is zero is called null position.

Impact plate Material flow Link connected to LVDT

LVDTs are also used for flow measurement, by connecting its core to an impact plate. The material whose flow is to be measured is allowed to fall on the plate, whose deflection is in turn measured in terms of displacement by the core of the LVDT. Null position drift: - Level the sensor using the adjustment bolts and nuts.

Erratic reading: - Connect voltmeter in output side

of sensor measurement card. Check for free movement of senor, by moving it gently, if voltmeter reading returns to original position then no restriction in sensor. If not rectify the restrictions. (Bubbles present in damper oil may restrict the movement)

Diaphragm

sealed

Loading Point Connector

Strain Gauges (4)

Load bearing column

MEASUREMENT OF FORCE/LOAD The load cell is an electromechanical sensor used to measure load or force. Load cell consists of elastic column and strain gauges (4). The load cell assembly is hermetically sealed. The stress developed due to the force on loading is measured with electrical strain gauges attached to elastic column. A complete measuring system is required in order to take measurements using the load cell. It includes load cell, Connecting cables and weight indicator/controller.

Erratic reading: 1. Check that load is applied to center of the load cell, i.e., load cell located centrally (This is to avoid bending forces on load cell). 2. Cross check the calibration, if the controller is changed the system has to be recalibrated. 3. Check input supply to load cell. 4. Check for side loads 5. Check load cell is

WEIGHT Tr
Strain gauges Power supply in Volts DICATOR/CONTROLLER IN Signal in mV/V

. 6. Positioned properly. Clean if any accumulations of dust, dirt or other

particles around load cell housing.

PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER INTRODUCTION: PLC is a solid-state system that uses a memory programmable memory to store the instruction necessary to implement logic, timing, counting, arithmetic and data manipulation function. It consists of a center processor, Memory and transmission coupler, used in liaison with an I/O interface unit and programming device such as a console. The hardware robust in construction, suitable for use in hostile environment and also in the vicinity of power equipments. It is designed as an industrial control system that can perform greater efficiency, the equivalent function of relay or wired logic systems. Aging effect in conventional relay logic system, cumbersome wiring and lengthy trouble shooting and repair activities result in the induction of modern microprocessor based PLC. Invitation and continuous up gradation of microprocessor based PLC technology have given immense power for men to become master of machine. Because of its power, flexibility, easy of use PLC have own wide acceptance by design engineers operators and maintenance personnel.

The PLC technology is advancing very rapidly with many new powerful features incorporated making indispensable. In this competitive market if any process control industry have to survive, then it cannot overlook the power and flexibility offered by PLC. It overcomes the drawbacks of traditions. Modular construction, easy assembling, quick programming, testing under simulator conditions and fast commissioning (planning, design, and startup) compared to conventional relay controls Modification require during functional testing as well as startup can carried out with the aid of programming unit. Such modification do not necessity carrying out any wiring changes as the changes required are simply keyed in Debugging is farther made easy by such mode of execution as single scan, step by step, break point etc. Extensive networking possible Powerful diagnostics equipments for instantaneous troubleshooting and repairs. Networking facilities with remote programming and control features for plant wide centralization and control. Powerful Software and algorithms (PID, sequence control, alarm and limit setting etc) to meet various needs of plant automation.

DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS OF PLC: Now a days there is a wide range of PLCs available in the global market having powerful CPUs, No of IO handling capacity, memory space etc. Some of them are given below. 1. Siemens, Germany 2. Allen Bradley, USA. 3. LG, Korea 4. Telemecanique, France 5. GeFanuc, USA 6. ABB, Sweden 7. Schneider, France : BLOCK DIAGRAM OF PLC

PROCESSOR: Processor is the brain of the PLC. It consists of a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and the memory. CPU takes the decision as what the machine should do. The CPU is usually a highly powerful 16/32-bit microprocessor. The availability of a wide range sophisticated microprocessor has created the basic for newer and ingenious PLC concept. Memory is used to store data and set of information. The system program is usually store in the EPROM and the application program is store in EEPROM, EPROM or battery backed up RAM loaded via console. In the hostile Industrial environment battery backed up RAM is phone to get corrupted or the application program may get erased due to defective batteries. Hence the EPROMs are performed battery backed up RAM. The system program provides the basic building blocks of application software. A programmer uses the basic functional block to write an application program. The area of the memory where the data is store is called data table. The data table is further divided in to smaller section viz. timers, counters, arithmetic data, flag etc.

INPUT/OUTPUT:

The input /output module essentially serves the following function: Termination: Provides terminal for field wiring coming from the sensing devices and going to out put devices. Connectivity: These IO modules are hooked up with the PLC through device Net or profibus. Indication: Provides a visual indication of the each input/output terminal the input/output status indication help in troubleshooting. Conditioning: Convert the signal coming from field devices to a voltage compatible to PLC circularly or convert the low level DC voltage of the PLCs output module to a type of electrical power used by the output devices in the field. Isolation: Isolates the sensitive electronic circuitry of the PLC, with the use of opt isolators, relays, from spurious voltage occasionally occurring at the machine or in the plant writing system. Although the design of Input/Output module ensures a high level of immunity to industrial noise and resistant to over voltage and polarity inversions etc., but to maximum reliability while operating in the hostile industrial environment, extra modules having noise/interference interference suppressing circuitry must be provided. PLC should be enclosed in metal cabinet to protect it against electromagnetic radiations. CONSOLE: The console is an intelligent terminal, which serves as a link between the user and the PLC. Most of the program development and the program loading are done with the help of console only. There are three types of consoles are available: 1. Industrial CRT terminal for online monitoring of process parameters. 2. Hand held console for debugging and minor modification. 3. PC, Microcomputer and Laptop for major modification and program development. These consoles are plugged to the PLC through the network port either by RS 232 or RS 485 or control Net protocol. PROGRAMMING: A program is made up of a set of statement. Each statement does two things. First it describes the condition that must exist in order for an action to take place. Second, it describes an action to be taken. The CPU scans the program looking for the conditions and taking corresponding action. This entire process is repeated over and over again. The scan time will depend on the number Input/Output and length of program. This is typically 5-10 ms (almost instantaneous for all practical purposes). At the beginning of the cycle, the current status of the input is read into memory called input image Table. The program itself is then scanned taking into account this input data. If sets of conditions met, then the CPU sets the corresponding bit in the memory called output image Table. The CPU scans the output image and either energizes or de-energizes terminals according to the data store there. Simultaneously the diagnostic also runs which checks the integrity of the hardware (power supply, memory, bus and configuration). In case of faults the fault is logged into the memory and made available to the application program. The PLC also contains a WATCHDOG timer to guard against the CPU failure. Programming is the most important aspect of the PLC for it is programmability of the PLC, which makes the PLC more lucrative over traditional control methods.

Programming Languages: Several different programming languages are currently in use in industries for programming automated systems controlled by PLCs. The common languages used in the PLCs are Ladder diagram (LAD). LAD graphically represents control functions with circuit diagram symbols. Statement List (STL) STL represents the program as a sequential operation mnemonics. Control System Flow Chart (CSF)

CSF represents control functions with circuit diagram symbols. A typical representation of LAD, CSF and STL program for a given circuit is given below: It is evident that PLC allows to better manage the process through advance control strategies that integrate regulatory sequence logic, data acquisition function, complex mathematical operation and business information thereby providing the most cost effective solution to the process automation. Higher performance and universal programmability of PLCs together with falling price have opened up possibilities previously unknown at the lower end of automation hierarchy.